Founders · May 7Phil Knight: Founder of Nike
Knight pitched it on reaching US stores at prices undercutting Adidas, and its first 12 pairs arrived about a year later. It secretly lined up other US distributors, which pushed Knight to build his own Nike brand and cut off Blue Ribbon early.
Tips
- Phil Knight pitched Onitsuka on pricing below Adidas to win American athletes▶ 9:26Onitsuka shipped him shoes a year later, and he sold them to athletes by word of mouth and from his car.
- Phil Knight handled Onitsuka's betrayal by asking what he knew and what came next▶ 43:43Knight found where Adidas made shoes outside Japan, visited those factories and began developing the Nike line.
- Phil Knight told his team Onitsuka cutting them off was their independence day▶ 46:47The room sat up straighter, and Nike moved on to compete under its own brand.
